Tech pundits agree that 2015 will see wearable technology become a dominant player in the consumer electronics marketplace. You could get in on this trend early by entering to win The Choose Your Own Android Smartwatch Giveaway at the Pocketnow Deals Store. When you enter The Choose Your Own Android Smartwatch Giveaway, you have the opportunity to win one of three fantastic and already popular devices that run on the Android mobile platform. The winner will surely have a difficult time selecting their prize but, that person can rest assured that no matter which one they choose, they’ll ...

The entertainment industry's got a bit of a love/hate relationship with tech. While the rise of portable devices, higher-than-ever internet speeds, and ubiquitous connectivity, it's become incredibly easy these companies to sell you content. Suddenly feel the urge to watch Caddyshack? Hop on a service like Google Play Movies, and you're just a tap or two away from a streaming copy. But that same tech also makes it easy for pirates to capture and distribute extremely high-quality copies of the same media. As such, media companies have taken a hard-line stance against tech they view as ...

What makes you choose one wearable over another? Phone compatibility? Price? Hardware design? Just like with smartphones themselves, there are a ton of criteria to keep in mind, and these being smart devices we're talking about, not the least of those is the variety of software the wearable is able to run. Some platforms are approaching the issue of apps from the phone side, like how Android Wear doesn't really offer apps that exist independently of your Android handset. Others, like Pebble, are more inclined to deliver apps that stand by themselves. Samsung's a little closer to the latter ...

If there's one thing about us geeks, it's our capacity to be super-critical about every little thing you can imagine. Sometimes that's a good thing: it prevents us from being bamboozled by every piece of techno-trash a company tries to shove down our throat, and it prompts the more vocal among us to shout out loud until those firms refine their offerings. Criticism, on the whole, can have a net positive effect. But sometimes it feels like we complain just for the sake of making noise. Publications like ours are as guilty of this as any other, but on the whole, most of us try to keep our ...

With Google I/O a mere week away, chances are very good that we're about to find ourselves facing some new Android Wear developments. Between whatever software news emerges out of there, and the pending arrival of the LG G Watch, Moto 360, and whatever new hardware pops up this summer, Android Wear is threatening to go from zero to sixty in no time at all, changing the Android smartwatch landscape. That puts pressure on manufacturers of existing smartwatches to keep moving if they want their products to stay relevant, and today we see Samsung doing a little of just that, doling out a new ...

Though many of us argue that Pebble tends to make better smartwatches than Samsung, the Korean company's marketing prowess is doing its thing again. Thanks to Samsung's incredible marketing of their smartwatches (by means of celebrity endorsement and otherwise), the company has reportedly sold 500,000 wrist-wearables in the first quarter of 2014. The half-million figure seems even larger when last year's numbers come into play -- over the course of the entire year, Samsung only sold about 1,000,000 smartwatches. This year, they are already on track to sell a handsome 2,000,000, though the ...

Just under one month ago, Google turned the smartwatch and wearables industry on its head. As I was writing an editorial about the then-rumored Google smartwatch, Google pulled a fast one on us and announced something much more than just one smartwatch; it announced an entire, dedicated platform for smartwatches: Android Wear. I immediately changed the tone of my editorial and wrote what was on my mind that very moment. I regretted ordering Pebble Steel just one week before. To this day, though the Pebble Steel shipped and arrived before I definitively decided to cancel the order, I regret ...

Our Samsung Gear 2 Neo unboxing video is here, but, we'll be honest straight from paragraph no. 1: we'll wait for our Samsung Galaxy S 5 review unit to land at our doorstep until we'll review the smartwatch. Why? Because we want to take advantage of the added features of the S5 on one hand, and, on the other hand, we want to experience the complete 2014 line-up UX, as Samsung intended it at the Barcelona launch event. As far as the Gear 2 Neo is concerned, we're looking at a natural evolution of last year's Galaxy Gear, with some design, internals, as well as functionality improvements. It ...

When an avalanche of reviews is rumbling its way down your mountain, it's rarely easy to assemble a podcast team – but as we frequently remind you, the Pocketnow Weekly has never missed a week, and we'll be damned if it'll do so now. So despite the forthcoming reviews of the Samsung Galaxy S 5, Gear Fit, Gear 2, Oppo Find 7a, Nokia X, and the just-completed reviews of the ZENS Qi line, BlackBerry 10.2.1, and the Verizon HTC One M8, we're banding together behind microphones in three separate cities on two continents to bring you the news and editorials of a very busy week in mobile. ...

Watch today's Pocketnow Daily as we talk about the demo of Windows Phone in the car that was recently shown at Microsoft's Build conference. Motorola follows as we get rumors of a Moto X+1 in the works as the follow-up to the Moto X. Samsung follows the news as we get new rumors of the Samsung Gear Solo, which is a smartphone/smartwatch in its own way. Google later brings us new rumors of Android TV that might be coming soon. We end today's show talking about how Phil Schiller complains about Apple's own ads lately. All this and more after the break. Stories: - “Windows Phone in the ...

The wearable space has greatly matured since this time last year. Pebble, for one, grew from the gauche, all-plastic smartwatch behind the most successful Kickstarter campaign of all time, to a finely machined luxury watch made of marine grade stainless steel with a blossoming ecosystem of applications and a dedicated development community and fan base. But that's hardly the only wearables development of the past year. The idea of wearables and, more specifically, smartwatches became more mainstream; Google Glass started spreading about the tech space; Google purchased WIMM Labs; Sony ...

HTC's all new One launch event is still... (*checks HTC's countdown page*) the better part of four days away, and though Galaxy S5 pre-orders have opened (or are just about to) with some of the big US carriers, we're still three weeks away from seeing those order get fulfilled. If you're seriously jonesing for some next-level smartphone action, and are sick and tired of waiting, we've got just the fix for you, as we learn about an opportunity to try out Samsung's latest hardware for yourself, beginning today. At 100 Best Buy stores spread across the US, the Galaxy S5, Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo, ...

With the end of March now in sight, we're only about three weeks away from when you'll finally be able to get your hands on Samsung's brand new Galaxy S5. As carriers prepare for the smartphone's arrival, we're starting to get new details on pricing, and learn how the order process will open. Today AT&T fills us in on the details for its own GS5 retail launch, as well as giving some US prices for Samsung's latest Gear-series wearables. AT&T's 16GB Galaxy S5 will sell for just about $200 on contract, or $650 free-and-clear. Pre-orders for the handset begin tomorrow, March 21, and ...

This week's announcement of Google's Android Wear project has very much shaken up our expectations when it comes to smartwatches, but before those get here and we have a chance to gawk over round displays on models like the Moto 360, we still need to see the retail arrival of some pre-Wear models. Samsung revealed the Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo, and Gear Fit back at MWC last month, but wasn't sharing pricing information at the time. We heard some rumors that suggested the Gear 2 might sell for around $300, with the Gear 2 Neo and Gear Fit coming in close to $200. Now, as Samsung begins to provide ...

The wearables we have today generally fit into three camps. We have the activity trackers, which may or may not have displays of their own, but generally require a connection to a phone or computer to analyze the data they capture. Then there are the smartwatches like the Galaxy Gear or Pebble that offer a lot of interactivity and can run their own apps, but still rely on a smartphone for data and other needs. Finally we have models like the Neptune Pine that are self contained systems, able to operate independently out in the world thanks to their cellular radios. A new rumor suggests ...

Inbox Zero. It's become something of a myth in the Pocketnow Weekly recording studio ever since we started actively courting listener feedback all those months ago. Skip a listener-mail section here, another one there, and before you know it you've got a mountain of mail it'd take a whole episode to get through. So that's just what we're doing. Just like we did on episode 076, we're devoting an entire podcast to your missives. We'll hear from people concerned about dual-SIM stigma, people worried about the future of Apple, and people writing to remind us that the automated home isn't as ...

We apologize for the delay due to some technical difficulties. Watch today's Pocketnow Daily as we talk about Microsoft's announcement of the Surface 2 with LTE for AT&T. Then we talk about the All New HTC One and how we get the first leaked video of HTC Sense 6. Samsung follows the news as the company is struggling to launch the Galaxy S5 on time. We then talk about the iPhone 6 spec leaks, and how we should expect an Ultra-Retina Display. We end today's show talking about the Samsung Gear, and how other smartphones may benefit from it. All this and more after the break. We apologize ...

Releasing a smartwatch in this day and age is a massive undertaking. You can't just throw together some hardware, have it pull notifications from your phone over Bluetooth, and call it a day; maybe that flew in years past, but today's smartwatch users demands a much more fleshed-out experience. Maybe more than anything, we want apps. Samsung switched platforms from Android to Tizen with the release of the Gear 2 (and Gear 2 Neo), and while that gives the company a bit of a fresh start, it also means that we're starting from square one when it comes to software. Today, Samsung takes the ...

"What would you say to the people who think that what you do is illegal?" " ... I would tell them that I don't want to answer this question." When you're interviewing the world's most notorious phone leaker, he's bound to duck a question or two. But cautious though he is, Evan Blass –formerly of Pocketnow and currently known across the web by his pen name @evleaks– is also a fountain of insight into the shadowy craft of being a professional spoiler. On today's episode of the Pocketnow Weekly, Evan shares the ups and downs of the underworld he's come to dominate, and gives us a glimpse ...

Watch today's Pocketnow Daily as we talk about the launch of the HTC Desire 310, along with the rumors of an AT&T HTC Desire 610, and the recent photo leaks of the HTC M8. Then we talk about the iPhone 5c, and how its inventories have completely disappointed Apple. Then we talk about the recent rumors that Foxconn expects 90 million iPhone 6 orders from Apple. We also go through what to expect from Apple's A8 chip, which is rumored for the iPhone 6. Samsung follows the news as we have rumors of the price tag for the Gear 2, the Gear 2 Neo and the Gear Fit. We end today's show talking ...

Samsung introduced its second-gen Galaxy Gear – this time shortened to simply the “Gear 2” - over a week ago. News of the smartwatch arrived alongside that of the camera-less Gear 2 Neo and the Gear Fit fitness tracker. Samsung shared details about software features, product specs, and even confirmed that sales of these models would begin sometime in April; really, we had everything we could hope to know except for pricing. While we still haven't seen any official numbers, some figures have managed to leak out this week, and assuming they're in the right ballpark, it looks like this ...

Anton D. Nagy chasing a taxi on foot. Jaime Rivera almost burning down a building with a power strip. A Honduran drinking palinca and a Romanian doing a Mexican accent. The tales from our leather-clad Barcelona duo are intense - but their intensity is matched by the hot mobile news that burst forth from this week's Mobile World Congress, the most epic in recent memory. To wit, that news includes an MWC 2014 Samsung Unpacked event that gave the world the latest Galaxy; a Sony unveiling of similar proportions that built on the Xperia legacy; a press conference that saw the world's first ...

Sadly, Mobile World Congress is now over. This year's mobile show in Barcelona, Spain was one of the busiest, device-driven shows in recent years. We saw a boatload of handsets, a few tablets, some wearables, and a lot of future products that won't be available for a while. Needless to say, there was plenty for just about everyone to be excited about at least something: a new Galaxy S smartphone, three new wrist-mounted Gear devices, a new Sony flagship, new additions to the HTC Desire lineup, new Huawei devices, including a wearable, a new YOGA Tablet and smartphone from Lenovo, Nokia X ...

Forty-four videos and untold news stories later, MWC 2014 is finally on the cusp of winding down - but there's still more to "unpack" from Monday's Samsung event. After yesterday's editorials on the ups and downs of the company's recent moves with its flagship smartphone, today's agenda starts with something much smaller: the Gear Fit, and how it might save Samsung from smart watch mediocrity. First some background: I was standing outside the entrance to Samsung's Galaxy Studio in New York City on Monday, waiting to be let in for the Unpacked press event, when a familiar person sighted me ...

When a company churns out its first smart watch after less than a year's development, then follows it up with a sequel less than six months later, there's something funky going on. So what does it mean when a company releases not one, but two sequels to its half-baked initial offering, announcing them alongside a funky fitness bracelet and the headlining Android smartphone for 2014? It says the company is determined to make a meaningful splash in the wearables space before its competitors get the chance, and it's taking a typical Samsung approach to getting there. To be sure, the Gear 2 ...